THE MILK of human kindness overflowed when complete strangers came to the rescue of a new mum after she became stuck in a nine hour motorway traffic jam with her baby boy.

Shelley Ruck, 33, with baby George, was touched by the 'unbelievable' kindness of strangers [CASCADE]

Shelley Ruck, 33, started to panic when she got caught in a sweltering 30-mile tailback and realised she was down to her last bottle of baby formula for eight-month-old George.

But help was on hand from above because a crowd had gathered on a nearby bridge to see what was happening and when she explained her predicament to them she was stunned when an anonymous team of Good Samaritans swung into action.

Twenty minutes later, after driving to a local shop, they returned with more than enough supplies to keep George happy including a box of baby milk powder, two sterilised bottles filled with boiling water and a bottle of spring water.

Then one of them scrambled down the embankment to hand them over to Shelley, refused to accept a penny of the estimated £20 cost and told her: "No problem - just make sure the baby is OK."

Shelley said yesterday: "It was the kindest thing that anyone could have done. It was absolutely unbelievable.

A cement truck slammed into an HGV near junction 34 of the M6 trapping Shelley in a 30-mile tailback [CASCADE]

It was really horrific. I had only one bottle of baby formula left and started to get very worried then these people I had never met came to my rescue. It has restored my faith in human nature. It was just astonishing

Shelley Ruck

"Those people really saved us. My baby would not only have gone hungry but would have been very distressed if it were not for the amazing thoughtfulness and kindness of these people because it was 30 degrees and so hot."

Shelley was with her mother Denise and baby George when their vehicle became snared in a huge traffic snarl up near junction 34 of the M6 south of Lancaster following a crash involving a cement truck and HGV.

They found themselves gridlock shortly after 2pm on Thursday last week and did not start moving again until 11 pm.

Shelley from Warrington, Cheshire who was on her way home from visiting a friend in Penrith explained: "We had been gridlocked for three hours and I realised the situation was serious when I saw police escorting a van through the traffic handing out bottles of water.

"There were people fainting, cars were running out of petrol and breaking down. There was one old lady who had to be taken away in an ambulance because of the heat and tensions among other drivers began to run high.

"It was really horrific. I had only one bottle of baby formula left and started to get very worried then these people I had never met came to my rescue. It has restored my faith in human nature. It was just astonishing.

"They saved us. My baby would have been hungry and distressed if it were not for their amazing thoughtfulness and kindness. Their reaction was amazing."

She added: "I don't know who they were and I don't know the exact location of the bridge but thank God they were there to help. I want to give them a massive thank you because what they did was unimaginable.

"They went to the trouble to go and get all that stuff which must have cost about £20 and they wouldn't even take any money off me because they were concerned about the baby.

"Hopefully they will read about what happened in the Daily Express and realise how much I appreciate what they did for me."

A spokesperson for the Highways Agency said the motorway had to be closed for such a long time because diesel and oil spilled in the crash damaged the top layer of the carriageway making it unsafe for drivers.